Obama Tag

Published on Huffington Post. The following remarks were delivered by Valarie Kaur at The White House on November 20, 2013.
Waheguru Ji Ka Kalsa, Waheguru Ji Ki Fateh
Thank you to President Obama and his staff for gathering us in the White House to celebrate Gurpurab, the birth of Guru Nanak, the founder of the Sikh faith. I am deeply honored to reflect on the story of our faith with you.
The story begins halfway around the world in Punjab with the birth of a humble herdsman named Nanak in

Published on Washington Post.
When my plane landed in Connecticut early Friday afternoon, I was glad to be home. I had just spent the week in Oak Creek, Wis., with families of victims murdered in the mass shooting on Aug. 5, 2012 at a Sikh temple. Their grief is still fresh, and it was both heart-breaking and cathartic to facilitate discussion and healing. I could never have imagined that I would be traveling from the site of one mass shooting to another, this time in my own backyard.
The

Millennials showed up at the polls this week! We weren't out in the same numbers as 2008, but we were a sizable force that made a difference. Sixty percent of us voted for President Obama this election. On MSNBC, I offer a portrait of the Millennial generation on the eve of the election and lift up a hope that was delivered:
Valarie Kaur on MSNBC "Melissa Harris-Perry Show" Oct. 27 2012: Milliennials and the Election

Letter from dear friend and mentor Amardeep Bhalla to fellow Sikh Americans on Election Day:
Dear Sikh Friends,
In case there is any Sikh American voter left to be persuaded, I just wanted to share this quick but comprehensive list of what the Obama Administration has done for our community. From reading it, I believe it will become clear that President Obama is by far the candidate most likely to advance Sikh American issues.
I urge any Sikh, whether they are Democrat, Republican, or Independent, to please read it. Regardless

Published on CNN.
(CNN) -- Last Saturday morning, when media crews outside the Sikh gurdwara (house of worship) in Oak Creek, Wisconsin, packed up their trucks to chase the news of Mitt Romney's choice for vice president, Sikh Americans were left reflecting on six days of unprecedented national attention. After the shooting of six people in a Sikh gurdwara, a stream of national leaders, from the Rev. Jesse Jackson to Gov. Scott Walker, came to offer condolences and support. But there was one person missing.
It was you, Mr.

Published on Salon.
On Wednesday night, Dalbir Singh was closing his store when three masked people approached and opened gunfire. He was shot in the head and died instantly. This crime fits the profile of thousands of failed attempted robberies in the U.S., except that Dalbir Singh is a turbaned Sikh man in Oak Creek, Wis.
Dalbir Singh was murdered just 10 days after a white supremacist massacred six people – five turbaned men and one woman – in the Sikh gurdwara in Oak Creek. He was one of

Published by The Washington Post.
On Friday morning, I arrived at a conference at the White House to speak on the future of the Sikh American community. On a panel, I reported on a rising generation of Sikhs who are reinterpreting their faith and finding innovative ways to serve their country. As I spoke, I caught students in the audience, listening and nodding. Afterward, they swarmed me and shared their brightest new ideas. I was moved, energized, and filled with hope for the future of our community.
Forty-eight hours

As many of you know, for the last decade, I've had the opportunity to tour with Divided We Fall, leading dialogues on campuses and communities in 200 cities across the country. And I began to notice something -- a rising generation of people like me were tired of partisan politics and hungry for meaningful social action. Many of us found it in the campaign of President Obama. And while I'm proud to have worked on his campaign, it's clear now that we need more than a president

On June 22, I had the privilege of spending the afternoon at the White House at the invitation of the President. A typical work day. I was invited as one of 150 community leaders across the country for a briefing and reception in honor of Asian American and Pacific Islander heritage.
The invitation came as a surprise -- and a long-held dream come true. To shake the President's hand and say

I've just received an invitation from President Obama to the White House on Wednesday for a briefing and reception in honor of Asian American Pacific Islander Heritage. The shock is not wearing off.
I've asked Sharat to come with me, and both of us are brainstorming about how to make this visit useful. There's so much on our minds --preparing for the 9/11 anniversary, supporting multifaith movement building, mobilizing Millennials, standing up for Sikh and Muslim Americans, pushing for immigration reform and LGBT equality and closing Guantanamo

About Valarie

Valarie Kaur is a seasoned civil rights activist, award-winning filmmaker, lawyer, faith leader, and founder of The Revolutionary Love Project. She harnesses love as a public ethic and shared practice to fight for social justice. She believes “the way we make change is just as important as the change we make.”

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